bonanno



Dec. 11, 1962 J. L. BONANNO Re. 25,295

TOY RAILROAD CAR WITH OPERATING SEARCH LIGHT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 OriginalFiled Oct. 28, 1953 INVENTOR M9552 1. ,Ba/wmwo ATTORNEY Re. 25,295 TOYRAILROAD CAR WITH OPERATING SEARCH LIGHT Original Filed Oct. 28, 1953 Dc- 11, 1962 J. L. BONANNO 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 w x Q Q q 0 km Illll H- "Um II 4 I'll/ I INVENTOR I/OSEPH Z. BOIV/QN/VO ATTORNEY tice Reissued Dec.11, 1962 25,295 TOY RAILROAD CAR WHTH OPERATING SEARCH LIGHT Joseph L.Bonanno, South Orange, N.J., assignor to The Lionel Corporation, NewYork, N.Y., a corporation of New York Original No. 2,990,644, dated July4, 1961, Ser. No. 388,741, Oct. 28, 1953. Application for reissue Apr.9, 1962, Ser. No. 186,615

9 Claims. (Cl. 46-226) Matter enclosed in heavy brackets appears in theoriginal patent but forms no part of this reissue speciti cation; matterprinted in italics indicates" the additions made by reissue.

The present invention relates to toy railroad cars with operating searchlights and is more particularly directed to search light cars havingdevices for remote control of the search light.

In my earlier Patent 2,574,905, of November 1951, was shown a toyrailroad car with a search light which could be manually adjusted toselected vertical and horizontal angles and lighted when the car was onthe track.

The present application is a continuation-in-part of my applicationSerial No. 89,290, filed April 23, 1949, now Patent No. 2,661,852, datedDecember 8, 1953.

The present invention relates to improvements in search light carsaccording to which it is possible to effect the lighting andextinguishment of the lamp in the search light at Will by remote controlwhen the car is on the track. It also contemplates a toy search lightcar in which it is also possible to obtain continued turning of thesearch light about a vertical axis as long as the lamp is lit.

To carry out the above objects the car is designed for use withthree-rail toy railroad track having a track magnet. The car is providedwith an armature adapted to be attracted by the track magnet and thisarmature actuates a switch in the circuit of the lamp to turn the lampon and off at successive energizations of the track magnet. The car canmove away from the track magnet and maintain the circuit condition forthe lamp as the car travels around the toy track layout.

The rotation of the search light beam about the vertical axis is,according to the present invention, secured by a vibrating magnet andelastic member having fingers on which the search light body issupported. The vibrator magnet is in parallel with the lamp and whenenergized by alternating current sets up a current which causes theheadlight body to rotate.

In the accompanying drawings two forms of the invention are shown:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a toy search light car on toy track;

FIGURE la is a diagrammatic view illustrating one form of constructionfor energizing the search light lamp;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the toy search light car withanother form of track magnet operated switch in circuit closingposition, the track magnet being de-energized;

FIGURE 3 is a view of the switch taken in a direction opposite that ofFIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through the toy car atenlarged scale showing the construction of the search light and therelations of the track magnet operated switch with the magnet in thetrack;

FIGURES 5, 6 and 7 are sectional views on lines 5-5, 6-6 and 77,respectively, of FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 8 is a top plan view of the compressible washer which propels therotatable search light head.

FIGURE 1 illustrates a toy search light car adapted to operate onconventional toy railroad track having wheel bearing rails 10--1i) andpower rail 11. The car C has wheeled trucks 12 and 13, a platform 14- onwhich is secured a toy diesel engine 15, and a toy search lightgenerally indicated at S. The toy track is preferably of theconstruction shown in my application Serial No. 89,290, now Patent2,661,852, above referred to. The track carries a track magnet M havinga coil 16 and magnetizable core 17. This magnet can be energized asillustrated in the above patent.

FIGURE 1a shows an arrangement wherein the armature 20 above the magnetM acts on a ratchet drum 21 to advance it one-eighth of a revolution.The ratchet drum carries 'a commutator with contacts 22 and 23, one ofwhich is connected tothe search light generally indicated at S, whilethe other is connected to a roller 25 carried by the truck 13 bearing onthe power rail so that the lamp may be turned on and off by energizingthe track magnet when the car is located so as to place the armature 26over the track magnet M.

FIGURES 2 to 8, inclusive, show a complete embodiment of the searchlight and its controls. Here the armature operated switch and control isillustrated in a form in which all the parts are secured to a verticalinsulating plate 30 adapted to be secured to the platform 14 by a springfastener indicated at 31, which engages a prong 32 extending downwardlyfrom the insulating plate 30. An arm 33 is pivotally secured at 34 tothe plate 38'. This arm is made of magnetizable material and has adepending, foot-like member 35 which extends down near enough to thetrack level to be attracted by the magnet M when directly over thismagnet.

The arm 33 is biased to the up position as in FIG- URES 2 and 3 by aspring 36. The arm 33 carries a pawl 37 pivoted to it at 38. The pawlhas a weighted tail 39 which biases it counterclockwise and is providedwith a nose-forming flange 49 extending to the right, as shown inFIGURES 2 and 3. The extent of movement of the arm 33 is determined bythe lengh of the slot 42 through which the pivot pin 38 passes. Theflange 40 extends rearwardly as indicated at 43 in FIGURE 5, and passesthrough a slot 44 in the plate 3%. The slot has a beveled lower surface44a against which the pawl extension 43 is brought.

The insulating plate 36B carries a metal bridging member 45 secured in anotch 45 in the plate 35 and by a rivet 47. This bridging member 45 andplate 3%! support a metal rotor 48 which forms an insert in a plasticmolding 49. The rotor is formed to provide a 6-segment commutator 511and the molding i9 is formed to provide a 12-toothed gear 58 and to fillin between the commutator segments. A spring contact member 52 issecured by a rivet 53 to the insulating plate 38 in a position to bearon the face of the rotor and make contact with the metal segments. Whenthe armature 35 is released the parts are in the position shown inFIGURES 2 and 3, and when the armature is energized, it is pulled downas indicated in FIGURE 4 and the rotor 29 advances one tooth. This willshift the rotor from contact making position as in FIGURE 2, to opencircuit position, as shown in FIG- URE 4.

De-energization of the track magnet or moving the car away from thetrack magnet merely permits the armature and parts carried by it to risewithout atfecting the circuit previously established.

The lower end 54 of the bridging member 45 is connected by wire 55 withthe current collector 56 of the usual construction, carried by the truck13. The lower end of the contact 52 is connected by wires 5'7 and 57with the lamp and vibrator coil in a manner to be described.

The right hand end of the platform 14 as shown in FIGURE 4 i providedwith a raised seat 60 and a cylindrical flange 61 above this seat. Thewall of the platform 14 is provided with an opening 62, see FIGURE 7.This opening is shown as square and has four notches indicated at 63.This platform is adapted to receive the stationary parts of the searchlight assembly. This search light assembly includes a lamp socket shell64 of the bayonet socket type, a magnetizable tube 65 and magnetizablebottom plate 66. The tube 65 receives the spool or coil form 67 on whichis wound a vibrator coil 68. The plate 66 has four outwardly bent prongs69 entering the slots 63 so as to hold the assembly to the car platform.The wire 57 above referred to leads to the coil 68. The other end of thecoil 68 is grounded to a soldering lug 70 carried by the plate 66. Thewire 57' extends up through a washer 71 which carries center contact 72for the lamp 73.

The upper face of the coil form 67 provides a fiat, annular platform toreceive a washer 75, made of a soft, rubber-like formulation andprovided with integral, upwardly and obliquely extending projections 76.These all lean in the same direction away from the radial line extendingthrough them.

The search light housing is indicated at 80. It has a hole 80a toaccommodate the lamp socket. It is made 'of opaque plastic material, andcarries a metal reflector 81 and a transparent cover 82. It is pivotallymounted on upwardly extending arms 83 of a bracket 84. This bracket issecured to a magnetizable cover 85 which extends down about the rubberwasher 75 and the coil 68. Its lower edge 86 is inside the cyclindricalriser 61. The cover 85 has a flat, downwardly facing surface 87 whichrests on the soft fingers 76 of the washer 75.

The search light housing 80 and bracket 84 and cover 9 85 may readily beremoved from the position shown in FIGURE 4 for shipment. When the partsare in the position shown in FIGURE 4, the search light housing andcover are supported on the fingers as above mentioned, and the cover 85is inside the flange 61 so that the loose part is securely held in placeas the car moves along the track.

When current is supplied from the power rail through the control switchto the lamp and the coil 68, the lamp is lighted and the coil energizedso as to vibrate at the frequency of the alternating current. Thisvibration is communicated to the search light housing and as the load onthe fingers 76 varies up and down, these fingers stretch and compressand impart a rotary movement to the cover 85 and search light housing sothat a rotating beam is produced about the lighted lamp. The rotation ofthe rotating beam is indicated in FIGURE 1 by the arrow H and thevertical adjustment of the housing about the horizontal is indicated bythe arrow V, FIGURE 1.

Since it is understood that the invention may be embodied in other formsand constructions within the scope of the claims, I wish it to beunderstood that the particular form shown is but one of these forms,and, various modifications and changes being possible, I do nototherwise limit myself in any way with respect thereto.

What is claimed is:

l. A toy search light car having wheeled trucks one of which has acurrent collector, a metal car platform supported from the trucks andhaving a preassembled toy search light stator symmetrical about avertical axis and comprising a lamp socket shell, a coil form having anupwardly facing seat below the socket shell, a vibrator coil in the coilform, a bottom plate below the coil form and to which one side of thecoil is connected, a magnetizable tube passing through the coil form andsecuring the socket shell and bottom plate together, means to secure thesearch light stator to the car platform to ground the coil and socketshell, wiring connecting the other contact of the socket and the otherside of the coil to the current collector, a ring made of elastomericmaterial resting in the coil form and having upwardly extending,tangentially leaning, oblique fingers, and a toy search light rotorhaving a hood about the lamp socket, a magnetizable skirt about thestator, a flat annular under surface resting on the fingers and adaptedto compress and to release the fingers when the coil is energized byalternating current.

2. The toy search light car of claim 1 having a car carried switchbetween the current collector and the lamp and coil circuits, and aswitch operator including a car carried armature for operating theswitch and disposed in position to be actuated by a track carried magnetbelow the same.

3. A rotating toy search light having a fixed, preassembled statorsymmetrical about a vertical axis and comprising a lamp socket shell, acoil form having an upwardly facing seat"below the socket shell, avibrator coil in the coil form, a bottom plate below the coil form andto which one side of the coil is connected, a magnetizable tube passingthrough the coil form and securing the socket shell and bottom platetogether, wiring connecting the other contact of the socket and theother side of the coil to a power source, a ring made of elastomericmaterial resting in the coil form and having upwardly extendingtangentially leaning, oblique fingers, and a top search light rotorhaving a hood about the lamp socket, a magnetizable skirt about thestator, a flat annular under surface resting on the fingers, and adaptedto compress and to release the fingers when the coil is energized byalternating current.

4. A toy railroad car for use with a toy railroad track having wheelbearing and power rails and having an electromagnet adjacent said rails,comprising wheeled means for moving the car over the tracks including acurrent collector maintained in contact with said power rail, anupwardly biased armature downwardly movable when attracted by theelectromagnet when said armature is positioned thereover, a switch onsaid car in series with said current collector and connected to saidarmature and movable thereby alternately into an opened and closedposition, and a search light electrically connected to said switch.

5. A raih'oad car according to claim 4, wherein said search light isrotably mounted on said car, an electro magnetic coil electricallyconnected in parallel with said search light, and a vibration deviceincluding a magnetic portion operatively associated with saidelectromagnetic coil for vibration thereby and including means to effectrotation thereof during vibration, said magnetic portion being connectedto said search light, whereby said device is rotated by saideletcromagnetic coil upon energization of the latter to effect a similarrotation of said search light.

6. A toy railroad car having wheeled trucks and a current collectorcooperable with a three-rail toy railroad track, a car carried armaturebiased to one position and attractable to a second position by a trackcarried magnet, a car carried current consuming device connected to saidcurrent collector, and a switch connected to said armature and movableinto an opened and closed position by successive attraction operationsof the armature and remaining in set position when the armature isreleased whereby the current consuming device is energized as the carmoves on the track.

7. A rotating toy having a fixed, preassembled stator symmetrical abovea vertical axis and comprising coil securing means including an upwardlyfacing seat, a vibrator coil beneath said seat, a bottom plate below thecoil and to which one side of the coil is connected, a magnetizable tubepassing through the coil and secured to the bottom plate, wiringconnecting the other side of the coil to a power source, a ring made ofelastomeric material resting on said seat and having leaning, obliquefingers, and a toy search light rotor having a hood about said coilsecuring means, a magnetizable skirt about the stator, and

5 a flat, annular undersurface resting on the fingers, said undersurfacebeing adapted to compress and to release the fingers when the coil isenergized by alternating current.

8. A rotating toy having a fixed, preassembled stator symmetrical abovea vertical axis and comprising a lamp socket shell, coil securing meansincluding an upwardly facing seat below the socket shell, a vibratorcoil beneath said seat, a bottom plate below the coil and to which oneside of the coil is connected, a magnetizable tube passing through thecoil and securing the socket shell and the bottom plate together, wiringconnecting the other contact of the socket and the other side of thecoil to a power source, a ring made of elastomeric material resting onsaid seat and having leaning, oblique fingers, and a toy search lightrotor having a hood about the lamp socket, a magnetizable skirt aboutthe stator, and a flat, annular undersurface resting on the fingers,said undersurface being adapted to compress and to release the fingerswhen the coil is energized by alternating current.

9. A rotating toy search light comprising a magnetizable core, a lampsocket shell secured to the top of said core with its outer contactsurface in electrical conducting relationship with said core, anon-magnetic annular seat surrounding said core toward the top thereof,a magnetizable annular bottom plate secured to the lower portion of saidcore, a coil wound around said core between said seat member and saidbottom plate, one end of said coil being in electrical contactingrelationship with said bottom plate, electrical wiring passing throughthe center of said core and connected to the other contact of saidsocket shell, additional wiring connected to the other end of said coil,a ring member made of elastomeric material resting on said seat andincluding leaning, oblique fingers, and a toy search light rotor havinga hood about the lamp socket, a magnetizable skirt about the stator, anda flat annular undersurface supported on the fingers, said rotor beingadapted to compress and to release said fingers when the coil isenergized by alternating current.

References Cited in the file of this patent

